By ANDREW CRUM
Staff Writer
As St. Joseph Academy started practice this week, the focus was direct.
The Bloodhounds feel they left something on the table last season.
After leading late against district opponent San Antonio Central Catholic last year on the road, St. Joseph was left stunned after the Buttons scored twice late in the fourth quarter and clinched the district title.
The loss was devastating for the Bloodhounds, but it may have lit a fire under St. Joseph as it prepares for the season.
“It taught us that a game lasts 48 minutes,” St. Joseph coach Tino Villarreal said. “We were there, but there was still 1:40 on that clock. It is a bad taste in our mouth. It does put a chip on our shoulder, and I know that for our returners (they realize) those opportunities don’t come often.”
That game won’t be forgotten anytime soon. But St. Joseph will look for redemption when it returns in October.
Until then, the focus will be the next game and what the team needs to do to be successful. Villarreal reminded his team that despite a good record, it didn’t achieve what it set out to do. And things won’t be handed to the Bloodhounds this season, either.
“My job is to keep our team grounded,” Villarreal said. “No matter what, we lost in the first round of the playoffs.
“So what did we really accomplish?”
The Bloodhounds’ practices have been filled with a plethora of plays and time in the classroom to review film and correct mistakes. It’s an interesting dynamic, but it’s working for St. Joseph and its high-tempo offense led by returning quarterback Kai Money.
“Everything we do is based off maximum repetitions,” Villarreal said. “We try to keep track of how many plays we run and how fast we can run those plays. We try to maximize our productivity. To do that we don’t stop practice, we just keep going and going.”
The different pace has helped some of the inexperienced players pick up things quicker and learn where they need to be in a given formation.
“On the field, we just go, go, go,” he said. “(In the classroom) is where we do our teaching.”
Villarreal said his coaching staff uses code words to make quick, precise corrections without holding up practice.
“Every time (we’re on the field) the goal is to look sharper and sharper, not make the same mistakes,” he said. “Football is a game of mistakes. Hopefully we try not to make the same ones over and over again.”
This system has helped transfers like Gunnar Henderson get up to speed. The junior should be a perfect fit to the Bloodhounds’ offense.
He already was making plays and showing what he could do, and relishing his opportunity.
“Things last year didn’t go the way I wanted them to go,” he said. “I’ve known Kai forever, and we had always wanted to play together. It’s a blessing to be in my position. I’m loving every minute of it. It’s worth it because I know this was the best move for me.”
“Our job is hopefully to put ourselves in the position to capitalize in that opportunity this year,” Villarreal said. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get back to that situation again.
“Hopefully we can use that maturity to push through it and seal the deal.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.